We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrew Augustin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrew below.

Andrew, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

For as long as I can remember, I have been drawing and creating characters. The process of becoming a “pro artist” is an extremely long one and you have to love creating in order to truly reach that level. As a child, I used to practice drawing characters from shows that I enjoyed watching. I would study various “How to Draw” books and incorporate as many techniques as I could into my skillset. As a game designer and programmer, it was a very similar process. Essentially the act of doing and actively trying to improve in areas is where the growth happens. For instance, if I know that hands are a struggle for me, I would study the anatomy and practice drawing them until eventually there’s obvious progress comparatively.
You never really know if you’re getting better until you look back at previous work and start noticing the differences.

The most essential skills for myself are determination and being resourceful. Without these two, it would be impossible for me to improve because I wouldn’t be motivated and couldn’t problem solve to find solutions to problems. If I get stuck on programming a mechanic for one of my games, I actively use my resources to find a solution.

Andrew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi! My name is Andrew Augustin. I am an award-winning 2D illustrator, game designer, founder of Notion Games LLC. I have designed the characters for The Sims 3 Pets video game and I am the creator of my own line of video games as well, including Super Ubie Island 1 and Super Ubie Island 2, Up Up Ubie REMIX, and Sheep Herder Nay.

As a young boy, I always knew I wanted to be an artist and in high school, I used my creative talents to design comic books and small animation, which received recognition from Austin-based music artists in need of cover art for their albums.

Experience, motivation, and recognition for my work led to one of the crowning achievements of my career: I received a full scholarship and a $10,000 stipend to be in the 2014-2015 inaugural class for the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy at the University of Texas – a program that only accepted 20 individuals annually. This led to a certificate in a post-grad program, which I was permitted to enter without having obtained a bachelor’s degree.

While I was designing my own video games, I was also providing classroom instruction to elementary, middle and high school students interested in a video gaming career.

My first teaching opportunity was in 2010 working with middle and high school students for an after-school comic and manga class program. I was then an instructor in the Kids N Technology program for elementary-aged children. In 2012, I was an E4 Youth high school program instructor, and four years later, I taught at Girls Make Games, an educational program that showcases the gaming industry to young girls to demonstrate what job opportunities exist for them in the world of video gaming.

I applied my prior teaching experiences to the classroom full-time in 2018 when I taught animation, video game design, and graphic design at Andy Dekaney High School in Spring, Texas for the next three years.

I was recently hired to be an Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Texas beginning in the fall of 2022. Instructing college students is another step in the evolution of my teaching career. I’m currently developing a Notion Digital Arts Academy and exploring options to provide brick-and-mortar schools access to game design curriculum.

Outside the classroom, I have been recognized for being an innovator in the video gaming industry in the 2022 book titled Innovate Gaming and Esports, vol. 1. Other awards and achievements include being named by The Austin Chronicle as best graphic designer in Austin in the 2007 Best of Austin awards; Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 class of 2015; and Black Enterprise’s 2015 Modern Man list as well as their Top 10 African Americans in the Video Game Industry list in 2016.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My entire life, I loved playing video games, watching cartoons, animated films, etc. The type of content I consumed shaped gave me a lot of joy and took me on many adventures I otherwise could only dream of going. Being a creator has given me the ability to do the same for others. My work tends to be light-hearted and colorful which evokes a sense of happiness in some people. I love seeing those who enjoy my style of work light up when viewing my art and playing my games.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

There are a lot of really talented artists out there and we are constantly drowned out by the major corporations. What people can do is search for art on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc. and throw artists a follow/sub, regularly comment on their work, and PURCHASE their work. Support goes beyond liking posts. Just like we go out and buy tickets to see major films, buy their merch in stores and more, that should be done as well to support lesser know artists. Marketing is extremely expensive but a way you can help artists out is by sharing their content on social media and telling your family and friends about the artist through word of mouth.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.notiongames.com
• Instagram: @nin10drew
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-augustin-65748620/
• Twitter: @notiongamesllc

Image Credits
Art and photos by Andrew Augustin